As is the case with a variety of foods available at the market, their mouth-watering quality isn’t always enough to outweigh their long list of questionable ingredients. One such food that my family has always enjoyed are refried beans. As the health conscious mother that I am though, I hate serving my kids all of the fat that is normally associated with this yummy food, and so instead, I have been skipping it altogether. Fortunately for my family though, I was able to find an alternate recipe, on allrecipes.com, directing how to make these delicious beans without the lard. After tweaking it slightly to fit my family’s preferences, I came up with this healthy recipe that never fails to satisfy my husband and kids.
Ingredients:
- 1 onion, peeled & halved
- 3 cups dry pinto beans
- ½ teaspoon red pepper (or as needed for the desired amount of spice)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1¾ teaspoons grounded black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4½ cups water
- 4½ cups chicken broth
Directions:
- Place the onion, rinsed beans, red pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker
- Pour the water and broth into the slow cooker
- Stir until combined
- Cook on high for 6-8 hours
- Strain the cooked beans, and reserve the liquid
- Mash beans thoroughly
- Add the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency